MCA DAY NYC – Memories, Love, and Ad-Rock 5-19-12

This is what MCA DAY was all about.

A Word From The Management:

Oy. This post has been a long time coming. I had to do this in spurts because if I thought too long about it, I’d break down and cry. It’s now been a few weeks and I’m working on processing my grief. Every time I thought I was done writing, I had to go back and add more. And revise. And cut. And reword. Truth be told, this is pretty long. But, there comes a point where you just have to stop and just put it out there already. So, here goes.

Knowing how to use a camera has taken me so many places I never thought I’d go, and has introduced me to a world full of so many interesting people and places and quite frankly, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Per my last post, my world was rocked earlier this month when I heard of the passing of the legendary Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys. A colleague told me the news in passing over lunch – she saw it on her smartphone – and the bottom just fell out.

I immediately lost it. I dropped my fork and cried big fat tears into my pasta. It couldn’t be true. It HAD to just be a terrible rumor. He was getting better, cancer wasn’t going to take my favorite Beastie Boy – and the whole band for that matter – away. But no, there it was, confirmed on the BeastieBoys.com website. My heart immediately broke in two. MCA was gone. ?uestlove of the Roots summed it up perfectly: “Yauch is gone. Fuck.”

The Beastie Boys built the soundtrack to my youth. My girlfriends in high school and I would each pick a Beastie and memorize his part, and then when the song came on we’d rap over it. I always had it in for MCA. He was my guy. The cool demeanor, the raspy voice, the insane bass playing skills… and when he’d play an upright… forget it. Swoonsville. Come to think of it, I guess I’ve always been a girl who appreciates the bottom half (MCA, Sir Paul, Entwistle, JPJ, Mike Dirnt, Matt Freeman, Paul Simonon… the list goes on and on and on and on). “Sabrosa” still gives me chills, though today, those chills are twinged with so much grief it’s hard to listen until my heart has had a chance to heal a little. Don’t even get me started on Hello Nasty‘s “I Don’t Know.” You wanna see me sob? Spin that tune.

Hello Nasty hit in my freshman year of college, and I had a radio show with my friend James. James and I always worked in an opportunity to play “Intergalactic” and bugged out to the crazy beat in that song (all time favorite beat, boys, serious sickness!). We would also find ways to work in playing “Sounds of Science,” and would cut the mics and rap in the studio while the song played.

Regrettably, I never met Adam Yauch in person, but through their music, I considered MCA and all of the Beasties my friends. In reality, they were just voices coming through speakers, but they told me the truth. They were mesmerizing, tantalizing, captivating, devastating… and even when they had a pretty serious message to convey, they did it with humor. Through the Beasties’ music, I learned about art, music, current events, and how noooooooo-body can do it like Mix Master can. I often wondered about what they were actually up to when they’d disappear for long periods and then would just show up and drop this amazing new stuff in our lap and remind us all over again of how amazing they are. Just in case we forgot.

They always came with a positive message and through their lyrics, were clearly encouraging their listeners to pay attention to what was going on in the world around them.

I never saw them in the tabloids, they were always kind to their fans, and they always seemed to be helping out people in need. I have read stories of fans who said they sent a band member a note or gift, and got a note or phone call in return. What? Does that actually happen anymore? Yeah. With the BBoys, it did.

Together we grew up and learned from the mistakes we made or tried to see more of the big picture of life. I don’t have any siblings and was kind of a buck-toothed introverted kid, so I spent a lot of time in headphones. Ad-Rock, Mike D. and MCA were kind of like my cooler, streetwise older brothers.

It was the Beasties who introduced me to New York City. Growing up in central NJ, I knew nothing about living in a big city. I lived in suburbia. Strapping on my ear goggles and hearing their incredible blend of punk and funk and hip hop and jazz and everything else taught me lessons I’d never have learned without these boys. They educated me musically, socially, and politically. They inspired me visually with their DOPE photography and artwork. It was because of the early photography of Glen E. Friedman and Yauch’s videos that I figured out what the hell a fisheye lens was. Then I went out and got one. Mind = blown. Granted, there’s a time and a place for the fisheye, and it’s certainly not ALL the time, but when it’s right, man… it’s SO right.

I read somewhere recently (I think in Rolling Stone) that Yauch was initially inspired by a curved reflective lamp that was in someone’s home – and that’s what enticed him to start working with a fisheye lens. Cut to me at 12 years old, mimicking the “So Whatcha Want” video in the curvy silver trash cans at Oxford Valley Mall. Yeah. That’s right, only child looking crazy at the mall (“Honey, what is that little girl DOING?”) but it made me smile.

My limited little world broke right open once I first heard the Beasties. Their lighthearted lyrical style and INSANELY diverse musical combinations always fed the bulldog. No matter what was going on in my life, I always had my three bad brothas that could make me laugh. As Michael Ian Black tweeted on May 4 – “Unique among long-lived bands, The Beastie Boys never sucked. Never.” I couldn’t say it better myself.

They always delivered mind-blowing shit. The days that were few and far between that produced BRAND NEW Beastie music were always incredible days. My heart would swell and that feeling — that feeling that so many of us will forever miss — would wash over me like a cooling rain. Because as dope as the new tracks were, you always knew a tour would follow… and that live show… oh how I will desperately miss those.

You can see literally thousands of examples of their live performances on YouTube and all over the net. Some of my favorites are here, here, here, here, (oh my god!!! here) and here. Check a full live show from Glasgow here, and the 2004 Kroq Weenie Roast here. Google them. Make a playlist and soak up the genius.Go ahead, take a break, maximize the window and come back when you’re done.

Seeing them live was a total immersion experience – the sound enveloped you and carried you on its shoulders until you hit the ceiling. I did manage to get to see them probably 5 or 6 times in my life, and for that I will FOREVER be grateful. At a show, thousands of strangers in an arena were suddenly friends, bonded by the music. And you never heard the same song played the same way twice. I have said this before and I will say it again… too few musicians these days really expand on their own tunes live. It’s called “theme and variation” and the Beatsies always threw you a new loop that made you just go “ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Some of the best examples I could find are linked above.

When I learned that they gave Mix Master Mike total creative freedom on the road, I was blown away. Even the band never quite knew what was coming, so it was truly a new experience for everybody in the house.

The Beastie Boys played music they loved and at the same time, whether they realized it or not, encouraged people to be who they really are.

They are forever going to be the real deal. And that’s what makes this loss that much more devastating.

In the weeks following MCA’s passing, I reached out to my best Beastie girl Nicole and together we looked for events that would honor MCA and the band that changed so many lives. We needed to LET IT OUT. The two of us found ourselves spontaneously bursting into tears – she while gardening and me at my desk doing work. So many texts were exchanged between us; sometimes it was just lyric bits, but I knew there had to be more people around the world who felt like we did. We needed to be around others who felt this way. And honestly, New York, I was disappointed in the lack of immediate response for the passing of a native son. The only thing I found immediately was an event at the Brooklyn Bowl – they called it the Beastie Bowl. So, I hoofed it up to Brooklyn on the NJT and had a great time. I have to say that it was a fitting tribute, and am so very glad I went.

The Brooklyn Bowl blasted the Beasties music all night on their intense concert-scale sound system (complete with BOOMING subwoofers… I felt it in my heart!), and then screened Yauch’s live 2004 Beastie Boys concert film Awesome… I Fuckin’ Shot That, and showed a really cool multimedia performance. That was followed up by some words from Neal Usatin, an editor that worked with Yauch at his production company Oscilloscope that made us all lose it all over again. We raised many a Brass Monkey in honor that night.

During the concert film, the crowd collectively closed its eyes and pretended to be at a live show. With that amazing sound system and the place packed with people, it felt like we were. One last time, we let go and let the music carry us. But then “Sabrosa” came on and Nicole and I were reduced to a crying mess, again. We had to hug it out. To think we’d never hear that song live again… it’s just too much. Tears on the keyboard.

Though that event was a really great one… we needed more. We didn’t think that the remaining Beasties would be up to the task of organizing anything for the fans – they had their own personal grief to deal with. And if WE were losing it, we couldn’t even imagine the grief that Ad-Rock and Mike D and Yauch’s family were going through. We wouldn’t dare to expect or ask anything of them at this terrible time, so it was truly up to us.

Turns out Mike’s from Boston and was planning this chill get-together in Union Square park, where fans could just get together, listen to the music and remember the man that we all love so damn much. He was hit as hard as so many of us were and also felt that need to DO SOMETHING. I was immediately IN and so appreciative that somebody took the initiative. So I wrote him and told him I was promoting and telling folks to come and that I’d come down w/ my camera and share any good images with him.

We talked on the phone briefly leading up to the event and planned to meet up in the park. I got there at about noon and found him and told him I’d just be walking around observing and snapping. When I shoot stuff like this - it’s really low key. I just wanted to document the event for the fans around the world that maybe lived too far away or were already scheduled to work and couldn’t possibly bail – and just share the love that we were all feeling. I wanted to be part of it, but stay the hell out of the way at the same time.

I brought two lenses in my Domke bag – my trusty rusty 28-70 f2.8 and the fisheye. All I could think of is that all of my favorite Beastie pics were taken with a fisheye, and this would be my small way of paying homage to this man and band who has inspired me artistically in so many ways. So, the fish won the toss up and I strapped it on and never looked back. Walking around I tried to talk to everyone that was there and ask them if they wouldn’t mind if I took their photo. I started asking people to just give me their best B-boy pose, and most people were way into it. So fun. I mean really, who hasn’t imagined themselves in one of those shots? I sure have.

It was incredible to meet and speak with so many devout Beatsie fans, and was very moving to hear everyone’s stories. We danced, we hugged it out and cried a little bit.

So we’re standing there, talking, singing, reminiscing, (me, my pale pale skin literally BAKING in the blazing sun) and I turn around and realize that Ad-Rock and his wife Kathleen Hanna are here.

Holy. Shit.

First of all, I am not really good at speaking to people I admire when put on the spot. I get a little bit starstruck sometimes and forget how to speak. I’m more of a thinker and subsequent writer. I need to put it on paper to make sure I don’t sound like a tool. But there wasn’t time for that.

Before long, fans also started to realize Ad-Rock was there, and I turned around and saw a sea of cameras, camera phones, and shocked expressions. The fact that Adam and Kathleen came down to check out the event was truly an unexpected honor. Adam was beyond gracious, and I do believe he needed to grieve along with us. It was really moving and it proved even further that the Bboys fans are a real family.

I walked around and watched as Ad-Rock took the time to speak to just about every fan who waited and wanted to talk to him. He took photos, signed stuff, and just generally hung around, probably for over an hour. There was no pressure on him… no mob scene… just fans hanging out. I was a bit relieved after I realized people could keep a handle on themselves. I would have been extra bummed if he had to leave because of too much intensity.

I witnessed people pouring their hearts out to him, and welled up more than a few times. By the time Ad-Rock spoke to a fan named Matt Hamilton, the waterworks were well in effect. The back of my camera was wet by the time it was all said and done. Matt’s convo with Ad-Rock has been well-publicized via Gothamist and Facebook, but if you haven’t read it and you’re a fan, check it out. Hugs and tears were shared. I felt kind of guilty snapping photos at this time – something I struggle with sometimes during truly emotional moments, but I couldn’t resist. Here it was – the truth – and I had to document it.

I was particularly moved that Ad-Rock noticed I had a fisheye lens – and I told him it was my way of paying homage to three artists that inspired me musically as well as visually. Well, that’s what I said in my brain. Who knows what came out of my mouth. Hopefully something close to that.

Without missing a beat, Ad-Rock gave me the shots I’ve always wanted to take – hands way out, Bboy style. I am still in disbelief. What a gift I have been given. I will never forget this simple gesture. I don’t think he knows how much that means to me but it truly means the world. Someone was filming parts of the day, and you can see me snapping with Mike, his bro, and Ad-Rock. Thank you, whoever you are, for preserving this moment for me. It is something I will treasure forever.

After a while I finally worked up the courage to speak to Ad-Rock myself, along with my boyfriend Jim. I totally bumbled through it, and can’t really remember now what I said, but I did manage to get a hug – because that’s all I’ve wanted to do since I heard the news. I can’t even begin to imagine how they must feel but I know there is a serious hole in my heart and if words couldn’t patch that across, I’m hoping the hug did.

Jim managed to make Ad-Rock laugh, and then we asked for a picture together with him. He graciously obliged. When I handed my camera off to a friendly stranger, I saw him trying to look through the digital screen on the back. If I wasn’t paying attention, the resulting image probably would have been of our feet.

I told the guy “Hey, bro! You gotta look through the eyeball part!” which made Ad-Rock laugh.

“I like that,” he said. “Eyeball part!”

Hence, the photo that I will cherish forever – me, my baby, and Ad-Rock. I don’t quite think I could cheese it any harder here, but more than that, I’m glad that though our idiocy, we could at least help Ad-Rock put the grief down for a minute and laugh. I am hoping that in that tiny millisecond, he could just let it go and smile. We all have a hard road ahead but I can’t help but think that healing all starts with one smile and maybe a laugh.

When I spoke to Mike Kearney about his reasons for putting on MCADAYNYC, I was really moved. He’s 32, one of seven kids, and is kind of doing a 180 on his life. He said he used to work in video production and realized that there’s more to life than making a buck. He wants to truly help people. So, he’s going back to school to become a middle school counselor. He’s also very involved with the Big Brothers of Boston.

The Beasties inspired him to reevaluate what’s more important… making a buck or making a difference. He said he’d never organized a thing before in his life – but that this event just started to fall into place and people “wove together like a fucking basket” and here we were. He just wanted to make this happen to come down and give thanks to a band that changed his life. The fact that he proceeded to GET thanks from a member of the band he said “…was the greatest thing in the world.”

A huge huge huge HUGE thank you goes out to Mike Kearney, the organizer of @MCADAYNYC for putting something really great together. For those who couldn’t make it, hopefully my photos can give you a sense of the great energy that was present that weekend. To all of you who have already sent me messages, I want to extend my gratitude. I am so glad that my photos have helped you with this grief, even if in only the tiniest way.

If you’re wondering if MCA knew how much the music meant to you (to all of us), I found this quote in a Shambhala Sun interview, and after reading it, I firmly believe he did:

“Some people just say that they like the lyrics, or that the lyrics strike them well. That feels good. That’s like the biggest compliment in the world; that just makes me feel like cryin’. Sometimes, when people come up to me and tell me that the lyrics, somehow, helped them or made them feel good, it’s just like, “Damn…” [looks down, pauses, obviously moved] What was the question again? (laughs)”

Since this awful news broke I have been devouring the web and finding so many more articles and tributes that really moved me. Some are from fans, some are from the Official Beastie Boys Message Board, and others are just cool things I wanted to collect into one place because some of these folks have said how I feel way more eloquently than I ever could have. And some of these articles/links further prove testament to the kind of good guy Yauch was. If you’re still feeling low, know that you’re not alone in this, and read some of the following links. They may help a bit. Hang in there.

An awesome video project called “It’s Called Gratitude” – filming fan messages for all to see. They were also at MCADAY. Check out their teaser which features words from the great Cey Adams. http://itscalledgratitude.com/

A great article which has some really great quote highlights as well as a link to a comprehensive list of BBoys references… for those lines you know you know you know, but aren’t 100% sure… http://kottke.org/12/05/mca

I haven’t posted here in eight years, although I have visited to hear the latest on MCA’s health. I’ve been desperately sad since Friday and needed to share my tale with someone, I hope you guys don’t mind…!In ’95 I dyed my hair pink and skived off Uni to spend a week of my life following the Beastie Boys on tour round the UK & Ireland. They were the most charming, sweet, funny men I ever met. They welcomed me into their world and taught me that anything is possible if you just believe.

Some months after the tour, I wrote to Yauch. He was kind enough to send me a letter and a postcard in return. In 2007 I managed to catch up with him at their London Roundhouse gig. We reminisced about the Ill Communication tour and laughed about how we’d grown up and got married. I told him how much that week back when I was twenty had changed my life. He smiled.Last year I was feeling particularly nostalgic and dug out my letters, passes and photos. I made this frame to hang in my hallway.

I heard about Yauch’s death from my husband on Friday whilst returning from nursery with our son. I stood outside my house for fifteen minutes sobbing, I knew when I opened the door the first thing I would see was the photo of him on my wall. I’m devastated, but yet so honoured that a hero of mine found time in his life for me. Love you Adam.

I used to work for a museum reproduction company in NH called Facsimilies. We made many reproductions of many different things but had a handful of Tibetan / Buddhist pieces. I was (and still am) a huge Beastie Boy fan, but I really loved Adam Yauch in particular.

In June of 1995 I specially finished a really nice Tibetan ceramic piece for him and I had planned on sending it so he would get it by his Aug 5th 31st birthday. It was perfect timing. I had sent it to Grand Royal but it got forwarded to him in NY. He received it about a week after his birthday and he loved it so much that he called me to thank me. First at my house, I wasn’t home, he left me a voice mail which i still have. Then the next day he called me at work. I was shocked to say the least but we talked like old friends would and spoke for about 5-10 mins.

He was interested in how the piece was made and interested in my work. I asked how his bday was and he sad it was good and said the best present he received was mine. Was really a great day for me. I asked him what he’d been doing during the summer and he said he’d been playing a lot of basketball. Just a normal, everyday conversation. He asked if I ever went to NY and said that when I came to NY that we could hang out. He gave me his voice mail number to call. I hung up the phone and was pretty much speechless and in awe.

I was 21 then. I should have jumped in my car that day and went to NY but I didn’t want to seem like a crazy fan. He sent me a postcard shortly after thanking me again and saying when i come to NY to call his voicemail and we could go out for tea. I treasure that. I did call on New Years that year but he didn’t return my call. I didn’t officially meet him until the following June in San Francisco at a rally after the Tibetan freedom concert and we spoke for a few minutes and took a picture together and he joked around with me. It was a good day.

He got taken away in a Police truck after the rally so that was it. I met him one other time in NY at a Grand Royal Records Show later that year and only spoke for a few minutes but he always took the time to talk and let me know he remembered me. I saw them many times in concert after that and remained a huge fan. Even worked on the Street Army for them for Hello Nasty and helped Ian with Grand Royal promotions in Montreal and Boston.

Adam will always hold a huge place in my heart and my heart aches that he had to suffer and that he is gone. We lost a guy with a HUGE heart. It really saddens me. It’s so not fair for a guy with his heart to die so young.

Guess what I want to say is thank you.
Thank you for the music that has been (and will continue to be) the soundtrack to my life.
Thank you for introducing me to SO much amazing music through your own.
Thank you for broadening my horizons, not just musically.
Thank you for being such an inspirational person.
Thank you for teaching me about my growth, personally, politically, spiritually.
Thank you for the laughs.
Thank you for helping me not take everything so seriously, especially myself.
Thank you for reppin’ Brooklyn.
Thank you for the strength and courage you modeled til the end.
Thank you for the love and joy with which you lived life. It was always apparent and always inspirational.
Thank you for all the shows. The memories of dancing and screaming along with thousands of others are sacred memories.

Feel like this is 50/50 eulogizing the Beasties as much as Adam, which I guess it sorta is.

I will never forget Lollapalooza 1994 in Philadelphia, when Yauch brough out Tibetan Monks from the Yellow Hat Sect to begin the day with some beautiful chanting. I was 17 years old. I can remember his face (I will never, ever forget) as some ignorant and disrespectful fans threw water bottles at the monks.

I always wanted to write a letter of apology to Yauch, on behalf of Philadelphia, and to also thank him for introducing me to the struggles of Tibet, with eventually led to my interest in Buddhism and the Dharma. I can honestly say that in addition to being the soundtrack of my life, starting at 8, to the Beastie Boys, especially Adam Yauch, I owe a debt that can never be repaid.

May Adam find a most positive rebirth, and even though we never met, I thank him from the bottom of my heart for the beautiful path he helped set me upon, just by being a postitive influence and role model. I promise that I will continue to use “Bodhisattva Vow” as my mantra. And to the Beastie Boys, you always were and always will be more than a band to me, you are a way of life.

Friday was surreal… things really hit me the day after he passed. I woke up the next morning with a lump in my throat that stayed with me all day.

I spent the day watching all sorts of Bboy videos starting with AWESOME I SHOT THAT.

I burst into tears as they hit the stage. That familiar intro from Mix Master Mike and the excitement at the start of the show – it broke my heart to think of all those times… how for all of us that moment when they took the stage was so special… The sort of irrational joy I got from the experience of being fully immersed in that world, if only temporarily, that was made up of so many parts of our being… and the music. It was almost like a religious experience. How it will never fully be again…

It moved me to think of the work and love that went into making that film and how I think for the fellas, it really was a love letter for the fans. And how in part that film was made for us to experience today and beyond – when we could no longer go back. It’s there for us forever and perfectly encapsulates that period of time.

I watched the Beastieography again and was once again reminded of their constant evolution and by extension that of so many of their fans – including myself. My gf was considerate enough to let me just go on and on – so many feeling held inside about in part the music, but really everything else that came with keeping this band close to heart for all these years.

As so many have said, it feels like a part of me has changed. I don’t mean to make this sound like I think its about me, but I really do think that this is so difficult because each of us feels that personal connection that can’t just come with the music. As corny as it may sound, its the way of life we’ve developed as influenced by these wonderful guys.

I really take the philosophy of the group to heart. This is how I choose to honor Yauch and the band. When people talk about inspiration from art and role models, its kind of hard to understand till it’s personal.

Please bear with me on this… I do strive to live by the way we have seen them live at their best:

Being tolerant, understanding and down to earth. Maintaining a hunger for learning and an open mindedness towards all kinds of art, seeing value in many points of view and trying to take in the bits and pieces of diversity that speak to me from all the sources we come across in life. Never being satisfied with mediocrity – one can never really arrive in life. Life is for living and living is growth.

I think that to honor Yauch is more than just listening to the songs. To truly love the man is to appreciate everything connected to the music. And just how he did, to take some of the parts that speak to you and really make them a part of you.

I know that this might sound stilted, but this is really how I feel. To mourn Yauch is to mourn a piece of ourselves. Affecting people at such a deep level… he did it right. That may be part of what they meant saying “we shall all be one.”

I am 26 years old. I have fond and early memories of the Beastie Boys’ music. The earliest was when I was three years old. I have an older brother who was always on top of the new hip hop that was coming out. I remember running around my room like crazy while License to Ill blasted through the speakers as loud as possible.

I have followed the Beasties ever since. When I think of the 90′s I automatically think of the Beastie Boys. Which makes me think of the videos and the imagery. So Watcha Want, Sabotage, Sure Shot, Intergalactic, etc. I became a huge follower and supporter of the band. Through vinyl, cds, shirts, posters and dvds to a vast collection of performances and concerts. I am blessed to have seen them in concert multiple times.

There were times in my life when I fell off path and was heading somewhere that wasn’t good, or wasn’t me. Every time I felt hard times, it was always the Beastie Boys who helped me get back on track. When I suffered from manic depression and bad anxiety, it was once again the Beastie Boys and their music that helped me fight.

They helped me find light again and again. Time after time. Not just musicially, but how they live their lives. The way the care. The way they appreciate their fans. The examples they set. They way they fight for what is right in this world. They are leaders. They make me feel good and proud to be a fan. I love them for that.

Which brings me to MCA. Adam Yauch. I just want to say how grateful I am and how much I love this man. I send out all of the love that I possibly can to his family and friends. Yauch has taught me many times in my life. I have learned things from him that I never would have learned anywhere else. Not only was he so mellow and cool, but he was so smart and intelligent and I loved learning and listening to him. He has inspired me and changed my worldwide perspective on many different levels. Spiritually, musicially, creatively, comically and on a basic human level. His musical genius is huge. From his rhymes, flow and cadence to his funky, rough, raw and gritty basslines. He was an innovator. The Boys were innovators. It will forever be my duty to inspire as much people as I possibly can to the legacy of Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys. Thank You Adam. Thank You Mike. And Thank You Adam Yauch. Much Love.

In closing, I just want to say that my heart is still broken, but together we’ll try to heal and keep MCA’s memory alive.

After really thinking on this over the past few weeks, I think the best thing we can all do to honor him is to get up, go out and do one positive thing for the sake of being positive. Make one change and that will make a world of difference.

My heart goes out to MCA’s family, especially his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin, to Mike D, Adam H and all of their families, all of the folks who have worked with the BBoys over the years and all of the millions of fans around the world that feel this so deeply. We will forever remember the impact this man had on all of our lives.

The next time someone says “one person can’t make a difference,” tell them they’re wrong and give them three letters: MCA.

So much love to you all. Keep playing the music, and together we’ll get through it.

xoxo

“It’s not so simple as I try to wish
Then again what is?
There is no other worthy quest
So on I go…”

Adam Yauch, 1964-2012
Rest in Peace, my friend. I hope you can feel all the love we are sending to you. Thanks for all the memories and incredible music. The world is a better place because of you.